A Clubhouse For Heroes

This blog entry will be about something that is very important to me -- taking care of the men and women in uniform. I believe the rest of us owe them our support in any way we can give it. That's why Gallery Furniture is happy and proud to provide the furniture for the USO Airport Center at Hobby and next week for a USO Center in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Every month, more than three hundred servicemen and women will pass through Houston Hobby and Bush Intercontinental airports. Some are coming home, some are going away, and some are just passing through on their way to another destination. Donald Erdy of the USO says that adds up to thirty-five to forty thousand people who need a place to wait for their flight, make a phone call, or just relax. That place is the USO Center at each of the airports. As our friend retired Army Colonel Susie Barlow puts it, "they can come in here and exhale."

When the USO Center at Hobby moved from its old location to what used to be a storage room at Hobby, Gallery Furniture designer John Brown came up with a plan for turning the storage room into a comfortable place to read, watch TV, make a phone call, or just relax.

Visitors to the USO Center are greeted by one of more than a hundred volunteers. They are retired from the armed forces, have family members in uniform, or are, as Donald Erdy describes them, patriots who just want to help. They are people like six year volunteer Bob Meany. A Vietnam vet, he's retired now and finds volunteering for the USO, the Red Cross, and other organizations a good way to spend his days.

He says the volunteers are here to help those who come to the USO. "You have to ask 'how long is your layover' because a lot of them get here, get in a comfy chair, and that's it." The next time Bob talks to some visitors is to wake them up for their next flight.  Credit the title of this entry to Bob as well.  He describes his job as "running a clubhouse for heroes."

Volunteer Dot Erdy could be called the "Mom" of the center.  She makes sure visitors can find refreshments, something to read, or a phone.  She could also be called "Grandma Dotty" by young visitors who are flying with their parents. (See the picture.)

Coast Guard Petty Officer Wesley Powell is a flight mechanic at Ellington Field. He and his family spent time in USO stations while flying between home in Ft. Worth and a duty station in Kodiak, Alaska. They were important stops, especially for Olla Powell who was "changing diapers during layovers." The Hobby station he says, is "top-notch." Some of the others are run down.

The USO station at Hobby has five areas, a sitting room up front with big comfortable chairs and a bank of computers for checking email. Army Major Matthew Whatley says after spending hours in airplane seats it's great to have a comfortable chair.

Behind that room is a game room with Xbox game machines and flat screen televisions. Many of the people in uniform like to relax with a video game.

Across the way is a television area with more chairs and a big screen TV. Behind that a small kitchen area, a table, and what the volunteers call the library. It's an area with bookshelves, tables, and more comfortable chairs.

Next week (December 10) a new USO Center will open in Gulfport, Mississippi and Gallery Furniture is providing the furniture for it. Soon there will be USO stations at Ellington Field in Houston and two more in Iraq. Gallery Furniture is committed to providing furniture for all 132 USO stations that will be open in 2008.

One nice addition to the Center is the display of unit patches on the wall between the front room and the rest of the station. Originally, visitors would tack their patches to a cork-board.  John made sure they were nicely framed behind glass.

The men and women who wear the uniform of their country give up a lot to serve. It's our pleasure to be able to provide them with a little bit of the comforts of home when they travel, wherever they are bound.

I have to close this entry with a special request. Virginia Hathaway, in the service herself, has a son in the Navy. She asked if the blog could be read in the Sea of Japan. It can be.  She then started talking about her son, Gabriel, who is with VFA 195 on the U.S.S. Kittyhawk.  Virginia had to compose herself a bit before she could say that her son had been injured on the ship not too long ago and was recovering.  She said he was on crutches, doing well and could she send him a message.  Of course she can. Here it is.

"Mom says Merry Christmas, and stay away from jets."

Comments

[AWC J. BUSTILLOS]

MY FAMILY (WIFE, 9YR OLD, 6YR OLD AND 14MONTH BABY) AND I WERE UNFORTUNATE ENOUGH TO SPEND 10 HOURS IN THE HOBBY AIRPORT. FORTUNATELY THE USO AND YOUR COMPANY HAD SET UP A WONDER PLACE FOR US TO RELAX. WITHOUT THE CLUBHOUSE WE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A MUCH WORST SITUATION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! NEXT TIME I AM IN TEXAS AND IN NEED OF FURNITURE YOU WILL BE MY FIRST STOP.

[Shannon]

What a great story. Thank you for sharing and for offering what you did to our people in uniform. My cousin is in the USCG and one the biggest things that just happened on their boat is they got new mattresses from an online company named Rocky Mountain Mattress. He told me about it so I just thought I would share. I guess if your boat needs a new coast guard mattress, they might be a resource.